The surge in joblessness came amid mounting evidence that a recession looms in much of continental Europe. To avoid a crunch, eurozone leaders’ response to the debt crisis agreed last week had to be implemented “promptly and forcefully”, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warned on Monday. It also recommended that the ECB cut interest rates rapidly.

The OECD slashed its growth forecasts to show the eurozone economy expanding by only 0.3 per cent in 2012, assuming there is no sudden crisis. In June, it had forecast 2 per cent growth. Failure to restore confidence and a repeat of the financial turmoil seen in recent years could see some large OECD economies contracting by as much as 5 per cent by the first half of 2013, it added.

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